178 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD. 



fifty feet in length, and in the tunnel-shaped aper- 

 ture, through which the stream flowed, we could 

 discern stalactites of translucent ice, that assumed 

 the proportions of massive columns supporting a 

 vaulted roof. Fred and I, with the aid of our 

 long silken ropes, which we fastened securely 

 round a huge boulder of rock, managed to cut 

 steps in the side with our axes, and to swing 

 ourselves on to a narrow ledge of ice some dis- 

 tance down the chasm, from whence, with our 

 field-glasses, we could examine most minutely 

 this extraordinary place. From this lower eleva- 

 tion we could see a considerable distance into the 

 cavern, which appeared like a lofty hall hewed out 

 of solid amethyst, and had we been superstitious, 

 we might have attributed it to the work of genii, 

 or the grotto of some water-nymph ; for it pre- 

 sented a most marvellous appearance, the sides 

 glittering as if studded with numberless brilliants 

 and opals, and the light within assuming the most 

 beautiful azure tints varying in shade from the 

 pale torquoise to the deep sapphire. 



The roaring noise made by the turbulence of 



